Page 163 of A Dead End Wedding

He didn't get up again.

I dropped the diploma and started sucking in sobbing breaths, then dropped to the floor to gently scoop Daisy up in my arms. Max and Gina both pulled themselves up off the floor and came over to me. Max made a wide circle around Croc's prone body, but Gina walked up to him, knelt down, and checked his pulse.

She looked up at me. "He's still alive. Do you want me to finish him?"

I looked back at her and, as much as I hate to admit it, for the tiniest split-second I was tempted. Then I shook my head. "No, of course not. Neither one of us want that on our conscience. Do we have anything to tie him up with?"

Max jumped up. "There's some rope in the kitchen from when they delivered the refrigerator. Gina, call 911."

As Max ran down the hall, I looked down again at Daisy. She looked up at me with so much love and trust in her eyes that suddenly I was looking at her through a shimmer of tears.

Max came back with the rope just as Gina finished her brief 911 call. Then Gina tied our assaulter up with brutal efficiency. "I hope he gets rope burns," Max said and kicked him in the leg.

"Go, Max," I said. Then I stood up and carefully handed Daisy off to Max. "We need to find an emergency vet, pronto."

The door swung open just then, and all three of us tensed as our over-hyped adrenal glands kicked our fight-or-flight responses into gear. Max and I relaxed when we saw Bear.

Gina didn't.

"Who the hell are you?" she snarled, still in a crouch.

Bear looked confused. "I'm Bear. Why are you mad at me?"

"It's okay, Gina," I said. "He's a client. Sort of."

I stepped over Croc toward Bear. "We're having an enormous problem here. This man attacked us. Will you help us watch him until the police arrive?"

Bear nodded. "Sure, Miss December. I'm glad to do it. I wanted to say sorry about?—"

I stopped him with a hand on his arm. "No, Bear,I'msorry. I never should have jumped to conclusions, especially after you were so kind as to bring me that lovely gift. Thank you so much, and can you forgive me?"

He grinned and started to hug me.

"Ah, ah, ah! Remember the lawyer's-feet-on-ground rule?"

He let go and stood aside, still grinning. "Yep. I remember, December. Get it? I made a rhyme! Remember, December!"

I smiled weakly. "I get it, Bear. I do."

I walked to the desk to find the number of an emergency vet. "Sadly, that's about the only thing I get about all this."

By the time I talked to the vet and got instructions for transporting Daisy (move her as little as possible) and their location (behind the Harley dealership), Croc was stirring. His head wasn't bleeding, but that didn't mean I hadn't inflicted any internal damage. The wordssubarachnoid hematomakept floating around in my brain, and I tried to feel some guilt about having possibly inflicted a brain swelling on the man.

Nope. Don't feel guilty at all.

Before I had time to worry about my violent tendencies, I heard sirens in the distance, and suddenly I flashed back to what Jake had told me about Croc.

Scuzzbag who'd just raided a bank account . . . I'd have it in cash.

"Gina? Will you check his pockets for keys? And then I'd like for you to go out in the parking lot –hurry– and find his car. Here's what you're looking for . . ."

We were all sitting on the couch and chairs (except Bear, who sat on our awakening prisoner) by the time the door burst open and the police and EMT personnel arrived. The first officer in the door swept the room with a glance and stopped at me. He groaned. "Not you again."

I stood up. "Trust me, officer. I feel the same way."

44

After the police left, I wanted nothing more than to go home and bury my head under my covers. But I had a lot still to do, like prepare for the settlement conference Max had set up with Langley's office for seven o'clock. She'd made them come here to our firm, so Gina helped me drag a couple of extra chairs in my office and clean up the place a little.

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